The NBA trade deadline is just three days away. If the Boston Celtics, an NBA-leading 38-12, want to stand pat, it’s entirely justifiable.
President of basketball operations Brad Stevens and the organization’s front office are putting considerable stock into the potential impact any move may have on the team chemistry of a tight-knit unit.
Jaylen Brown described this iteration of the C’s as “One of the best groups and teams and character that we’ve had. We all get along. It’s a good atmosphere.”
So, if Boston wants to convert Neemias Queta from a two-way to a full-time NBA contract to fill their vacant roster spot and call it a day, it’s an understandable approach.
If the Celtics don’t lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June, there will be more significant reasons than taking that path for why their quest for Banner 18 extends into the 2024-25 campaign.
They could also make a small move to fill Stevens’ stated search for a big wing or acquire a player like John Konchar, who fits into the $6.2 million Grant Williams traded player exception (TPE).
The soon-to-be 28-year-old, who, like Marcus Smart, did not play in the latter’s return to TD Garden, a 131-91 win for the hosts against an injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies team, would provide shooting and comfort facilitating off the catch while joining Boston’s extended rotation.
And while he’s on the books for $2.4 million for the 2023-24 season, after this, he’ll make $6.2 million each of the next three years, meaning he could effectively provide a longer-lasting Grant Williams TPE.
But if the Celtics want to give themselves the largest margin of error possible in the playoffs, they’ll take a significant but sensible swing.
Or at least they should try to. The Chicago Bulls are a franchise that typically doesn’t act as sellers, even when it appears in their best interest. There have been trade rumblings surrounding multiple members of their roster in recent years, including Zach LaVine, who recently opted for season-ending right foot surgery, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic.
However, the play-in tournament has fueled their modus operandi. And they nearly did Boston and the Milwaukee Bucks a favor by knocking off the Miami Heat to reach the postseason in 2023.
But now, at 23-27, they’re ninth in the Eastern Conference. It would hardly be surprising if they fetch offers that accepting would better serve the franchise in the long run.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Bulls are asking for “the equivalent of two first-round picks” to part with Alex Caruso.
For the Celtics to entice Chicago to part with the 2022-23 NBA All-Defensive First Team selection and win the Caruso sweepstakes, they could offer a package built on Payton Pritchard and two protected first-round selections. Dalano Banton, Lamar Stevens, and Svi Mykhailiuk would get included to make the math work.
Pritchard’s 26 and on a team-friendly contract he signed before this season started — a four-year, $30 million deal with an average annual value of $7.5 million.
That’s quite valuable to a franchise over the second apron and preparing to sign Jayson Tatum to a supermax extension this summer. That will join Jaylen Brown’s on Boston’s books after the 2024-25 campaign.
There’s also the value the former Oregon Duck provides on the court. He’s producing 7.8 points per contest, a tick more than his career-high for an entire season. He’s drilling 36.8 percent of the 4.5 threes he’s launching and has made appreciable strides as a facilitator, especially out of the pick-and-roll.
His assist-to-turnover ratio (5.00) is comfortably the best on the Celtics, per NBA.com. Al Horford (3.63) is second on the team.
But Caruso is an undeniable and meaningful upgrade. Along with his 1.3 steals per game, his 3.4 deflections are the third-most in the Association, per NBA.com. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the league with 3.6.
His pressuring and disruptive defense would be a welcome addition for Boston, who is forcing the second-fewest turnovers in the NBA (11.9). The difference in the C’s offense when they’re pushing the pace compared to operating with a slower tempo makes someone who can create more transition opportunities for them that much more valuable.
The six-foot-five combo guard is also a connector offensively, who can help ensure the Celtics create quality possessions and cut down on their 12.6 turnovers per contest, which ranks in the top five league-wide.
The former Texas A&M Aggie, who turns 30 this month, is under contract for $9.5 million this season and $9.9 for the 2024-25 campaign. The latter has a $3 million partial guarantee. It becomes fully guaranteed on Jun. 30.
Caruso, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday could pace each other while giving Boston a sensational backcourt triumvirate. It would also give Stevens more options for how to move forward.
White’s contract expires at the same time as Caruso’s. Holiday is eligible for an extension starting in early April, a route he went with the Milwaukee Bucks before helping lead them to a championship in 2021. The two-time All-Star is hoping history repeats itself this season.
That has the Celtics staring down the possibility of well over $100 million in luxury tax penalties on top of a $200+ million payroll.
Even if White and Holiday stay and Caruso spends a two-year stint in Boston before departing, the Celtics affording themselves a better chance at an NBA title is worth sacrificing the additional two years Pritchard’s under contract.
How heavily they’re relying on Kristaps Porzingis, a seven-foot-three center who’s dealt with multiple lower body injuries in the 2023-24 campaign and dealt with plantar fascia in the summer, makes that especially true.
They can find an effective backup point guard when the time comes; their priority is trying to raise Banner 18 to the TD Garden rafters.
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